Tokyo 2020 Day 6 Preview: Preliminary rounds wrap up in basketball, goalball, and boccia
- Double Tokyo silver medallist Brent Lakatos back on track for 1500m heats
- Para swimming action continues
- Shooting Para sport begins; Karen Van Nest in Para archery elimination rounds
TOKYO, Aug. 29, 2021 /CNW/ - Preliminary play wraps up in three events for Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Monday August 30, with the men's wheelchair basketball squad, women's goalball team, and individual boccia players hoping to finish strong for a chance to advance. Canadian athletes will also be in action in Para athletics, Para swimming, Para archery, and Shooting Para sport.
Para Athletics
Austin Smeenk (Oakville, ON) is direct to the men's T34 100m final set for 10:43 a.m. JST / 9:43 p.m. ET. The 24-year-old finished sixth in this event at the Rio 2016 Games.
Brent Lakatos (Dorval, QC), already a two-time silver medallist in Tokyo, is back for more action at the track, racing in the men's T54 1500m heats at 12:44 p.m. JST / 11:44 p.m. ET (Sunday). He is the current T53 world record holder in this distance, set in 2017. Also competing in heats are Zachary Gingras (Markham, ON) in his first-ever Paralympic event in the men's T38 400m heats at 12:19 p.m. JST / 11:19 p.m. ET (Sunday) and Jessica Frotten (Whitehorse, YT) in the women's T54 1500m at 9:34 p.m. JST / 8:34 a.m. ET. The finals for each would take place on Tuesday.
Wheelchair Basketball
The Canadian men will conclude round-robin play against Colombia at 9 a.m. JST / 8 p.m. ET (Sunday) and a victory would advance the squad into the quarterfinals. The team currently sits fifth in Group A with a 1-3 record after picking up their first win on Sunday. The top four teams in the group will advance.
Para Swimming
Canada will have four swimmers at the pool on Monday, with Aly Van Wyck-Smart (Toronto, ON) and Nikita Ens (Meadow Lake, SK) both set for the women's 100m freestyle S3 heats at 10:30 a.m. JST / 9:30 p.m. ET (Sunday). Camille Bérubé (Gatineau, QC) and Danielle Dorris (Moncton, NB) are also straight to the final in the women's 100m backstroke S7, set for 5:07 p.m. JST / 4:07 a.m. ET.
Boccia
The preliminary round wraps up in the boccia individual tournament, with all three Canadians hoping to finish strong. In the BC4 category, Iulian Ciobanu (Montreal) will look to go up 3-0 opposite China's Zheng Yuansen at 4 p.m. JST / 3 a.m. ET while 1-1 Alison Levine (Montreal) will face Davor Komar of Croatia at 9:30 a.m. JST / 8:30 p.m. ET (Sunday). The third Canadian in competition is BC2 player Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC), heading into his match against RPC's Diana Tsyplina at 1:20 p.m. JST / 12:20 a.m. ET with a 0-2 record.
Goalball
Canada's women's goalball team wraps up preliminary play with a game against China at 2:45 p.m. JST / 1:45 a.m. ET. With a 1-2 record, Canada is currently fifth in Group A and needs a top 4 finish to advance to the quarterfinals, making this a must-win game to keep their hopes alive.
Para Archery
Karen Van Nest (Wiarton, ON) will face China's Lin Yueshan in the 1/8 elimination round of the women's compound open at 10:25 a.m. JST / 9:25 p.m. ET (Sunday) with a place in the quarterfinals on the line. Van Nest was ranked 11th after the ranking round while Lin was sixth. The women's compound open will conclude with the medal rounds on Monday, so if Van Nest defeats Lin, she will play again later in the day.
Shooting Para Sport
Doug Blessin (Port Coquitlam, BC) and Lyne Tremblay (Magog, ON) will compete in their first event of Tokyo 2020 – the mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 in Shooting Para sport. The qualifying round starts at 1:15 p.m. JST / 12:15 a.m. ET with the top eight finishers then advancing to the finals, also to take place on Monday. This is both Blessin and Tremblay's third Paralympic appearance but for Tremblay her first in Shooting Para sport after making the switch from archery.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
CLICK HERE for the complete Canadian Paralympic Team schedule on August 30.
HOW TO WATCH
Livestream and on-demand broadcasts can be found at Paralympic.ca/Tokyo-2020/live-stream-video-demand, cbc.ca/tokyo2020 and Radio-Canada.ca/jeux-paralympiques, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, the free CBC Gem streaming service, and the Radio-Canada Sports app.
August 30 Canadian TV Broadcasts:
Sportsnet One (CBC Late Night Replay) – 7 a.m. ET
CBC Daytime – 3 p.m. local
CBC Primetime – 7 p.m. local
CBC Late Night – 12:30 a.m. local (Tuesday)
Radio-Canada Afternoon – 1 p.m. ET
Radio-Canada Late Night – 11:05 p.m. ET
Click here for the complete broadcast schedule. Check your local listings for updated schedules.
MEDIA RESOURCES: Resources to cover the Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Team, including athlete bios, flash quotes, photos, and video highlights, are available at Paralympic.ca/tokyo-2020-media.
Follow @CDNParalympics for the most up-to-date news
About the Canadian Paralympic Team: Canada is represented by 128 athletes competing in 18 sports at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, taking place August 24 to September 5.
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee: Paralympic.ca
MEDIA CONTACTS
[LINK] LIST OF MEDIA CONTACTS BY SPORT
For interview requests with the athletes during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, please contact the specific sport media attaché.
SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)
Nicole Watts, Manager, Public Relations, Canadian Paralympic Committee, [email protected] or 613-462-2700
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